Would Schroders pay more than £500m for Cazenove?

Far from looking weak in the aftermath of UK equity head Richard Buxton's departure, acquiring a business with £18.7bn in AUM would serve as a timely reminder of the group's position as one of the UK's largest fund managers. But does it makes sense on a financial basis? The initial signs here, too, are positive: the strength of Cazenove's business stands in stark contrast to some of its competitors. A look at Cazenove's annual results for 2012 shows EBITDA rose 14% to £35.9m, while assets under management rose 15% to £17.2bn. That AUM growth was fuelled by its wealth arm's intermed...